Tinsley campaign downplays GOP affiliation

The campaign of Republican 2nd Congressional District candidate Ed Tinsley is gaining some national attention because of a video that shows his wife saying the campaign is downplaying Tinsley’s party affiliation.

Here’s the video:

“When the primary was over, all our signs had Republican on them, and we had to have everything totally redone without the Republican — all our stickers, everything,” Tinsley’s wife Meredith says in the video.

The video was first posted by The Politico.

“Keep in mind that the district is the most Republican district in New Mexico, and hasn’t elected a Democrat to Congress since 1980. It gave President Bush 58 percent of the vote in 2004,” the Web site’s article states. “But Democrats believe they have a real chance to buck history, nominating Harry Teague, a conservative oilman who supports offshore oil drilling, to represent the energy-rich district.”

Tinsley spokesman Jim Pettit said there isn’t much significance to the video.

“The video clip at a recent campaign event simply reflects what is already in our television commercials, which also make no mention of party affiliation,” he said. “Southern New Mexico has a long tradition of upholding conservative values, which is more important to highlight than party affiliation.”

The Teague campaign declined to comment. The Teague-backing Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee sent The Politico’s article to reporters but declined to comment on it.